On Thursday, January 19, 2023, Northshore Council PTSA held its third General Membership meeting of the school year.
We would like to say thank you to all of the local leaders from across the district, as well as community and school partners for taking the time to join us! Continue reading below for a recap of the meeting. Meeting Recap:
Council Business
Community Partners
Reminders
Northshore Council PTSA invites you to attend the School Board Candidates Meet & Greet. Enjoy coffee and baked treats while getting to know the Northshore School Board candidates in a casual setting at the park. There is no formal Q&A at this event. All four candidates who filed to run for Northshore School Board have been invited to attend by Northshore Council PTSA.
Questions? Email [email protected] Primary elections will be held on Tuesday, August 1st. Voter registration information available. Register to vote or update your registration information today! Disclaimer: Northshore Council PTSA does not support or oppose any candidate (appointed or elected) for public office. This event is to assist the community in making an informed judgment in the election of its school board. School Board Candidates
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Director District No. 2 Candidate
☐ Elisabeth Sotak Candidate is unopposed and will not appear on Primary Ballot in August, but will appear on the November ballot. |
Board members represent the district at large although they must reside in specific geographical areas of the district. Voters within the Northshore School District boundaries are able to vote for all school board director positions.
- You are new to Washington State
- You have recently moved
- You have a new mailing address
- You changed your name
Important Dates: |
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July 11 - King County July 12 - Snohomish County |
Voters' Pamphlet mailed |
July 12 - King County July 13 - Snohomish County |
Local ballots mailed. |
July 24 |
Last day for voters to register or update voter information online. |
August 1 Election Day |
Last day for voters to register or update voter information in person. Last day for voters to return voted ballot by mail postmarked by today or dropped in ballot drop box by 8 p.m. The August 1 Primary features local races and will narrow the field of candidates to the top two who will go on to the General Election on November 7. It also features local ballot measures. |
August 1, 2023 - Primary
November 7, 2023 - General Election
February 13, 2024 - Special Election
Snohomish County Election Information: https://snohomishcountywa.gov/224/Elections-Voter-Registration
WA Secretary of State: https://www.sos.wa.gov/elections
This can be used by any local PTA/PTSA that wants Council to host a Zoom meeting for them. Please note that max number of attendees is 100 and that this service is offered on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Here is how it works:
- Complete an online form to request a meeting date.
- Council Zoom host(s) will receive a notification upon submission. Host(s) will verify there is availability for the requested date/time including confirmation that a Council representative can stay for the duration of the meeting.
- Once a determination is made, the PTA/PTSA requesting will be contacted with either confirmation (and zoom info) or notice that the date/time is unavailable.
- Three (3) weeks prior to meeting, Council Zoom Host will send an email to reconfirm date and timeas requested. You will need to respond to this email at least two (2) weeks prior to your meeting or you risk having your meeting time cancelled.
- At the time of the meeting, a Council Zoom host will start the meeting and then pass host privileges to whomever the local PTA/PTSA designates. If at any point during the meeting there is an issue and the meeting needs to be restarted, the local PTA/PTSA representative will have access to text or message the Council Zoom host to have the meeting restarted.
Questions? Contact us!
Please verify Council has your PTA's most up-to-date online join link, website, and social media pages listed on our website. Council will be promoting membership this coming year by including all Northshore PTAs online join links on our website here! An online join link is a valuable tool for PTAs to use to help people easily become members of PTA. Make your join link clear, and easy to find on the front page of your website. BONUS: We'll be promoting online join for all Northshore PTAs/PTSAs at the upcoming NSD Back to School Resource Fair on Thursday, August 10th at Pop Keeney. |
Outstanding Advocate - Amelie Fry The Outstanding Student Advocate Award recognizes students who have made significant contributions through leadership and service in their school and community. Northshore Council PTSA’s 2023 Outstanding Student Advocate is Amelie Fry. Amelie has served on Northshore School District’s student board for three years, organized voter registration drives and worked hard to get youth involved in local politics. She has also been in attendance at several School Board meetings, even getting up to speak at some—not an easy task for a teenager to do these days. Amelie has worked with Northshore Council’s mental health and DEI committees, recently presenting at Council’s RARE event. She is also passionate about the arts, having participated in Council’s Reflections program, both as a contestant and for two years as a volunteer judge. This student is dedicated to helping others. Congratulations, Amelie! Outstanding Service - Kelly Hennessey The Outstanding Service Award is the highest volunteer award given by the Washington State PTA. It is awarded to someone who has gone beyond his or her own school community, job, or PTA in order to give dedicated volunteer service to children. This year, the Outstanding Service Award was presented to Kelly Hennessey. Like many other PTA volunteers, Kelly balances a career and family with volunteer work on her local PTA boards as well as other youth sports boards, and does an amazing job in those roles alone. However, there is another role Kelly occupies that has had a major impact on families across the district. For several years, she has been the driving force behind Threads and Treads, a free clothing bank for families in the Northshore School District. Her time is not limited to looking for grants or setting up clothing donation drives; she also coordinates a core group of adult volunteers and organizes youth volunteers throughout the school year to provide a space for students and their families to come “shop” for clothing. The environment she has created has helped families feel welcome and relaxed, it provides a space where people not only shop for clothes but also feel part of a community. Congratulations, Kelly! | Outstanding Advocate - Juliana Fisher The Outstanding Advocate Award honors individuals for their continued and dedicated service to ALL children demonstrating a commitment to speaking up for children in the areas relating to health, welfare, safety, and education of children and youth. Northshore Council PTSA’s 2023 Outstanding Advocate is Juliana Fisher, Northshore School District’s Director of Food Services. Juliana has seen firsthand the benefits of the free lunch for all program last school year for Northshore students and has advocated in Olympia for increased funding. She has also worked to create more varied communication of school lunch menus, including social media and a visual menu that makes the menu more accessible to elementary students and students with disabilities. In addition to her work behind the scenes, Juliana has presented at local PTAs as well as Council to help educate families, provide resources and talk about current legislation in Washington state related to school meals. Congratulations, Juliana! Golden Acorn - Mary Khouzam The Golden Acorn Award is presented to a Northshore Council PTSA volunteer in recognition of their dedication and service to children and youth. This year's Golden Acorn was presented to Mary Khouzam. The Nominators’ words to describe Mary include compassionate, dedicated, professional and inspiring. Mary has been a staple on the boards of many local PTAs over the years, as well as on Northshore Council PTSA’s board the past three years. She frequently volunteers to be on committees, asking balanced questions and bringing up a fresh perspective to make sure all angles are considered. Mary has created subcommittees to work on proposals put before Council, looking first for perspective or background on the issue at hand and then holding productive, task-based meetings to keep things on point. This year, with no VP of Events, Mary stepped in to ensure that Council could put on two major events in person for the first time in three years. Congratulations, Mary! |
Outstanding Educator - Cheryl Klemz The Outstanding Educator Award honors individuals who go beyond the normal expectations of their jobs to make the learning environment fun, beneficial, and challenging. One of two Outstanding Educator Awards was presented to Cheryl Klemz of Canyon Park Middle School. Cheryl has been teaching secondary school in the Northshore School District for 20 years. She is well-respected by their fellow staff members, having served on several school committees including SDLT, Climate and Culture Committee and more. Cheryl has created a classroom environment where all students feel welcome to share their talents and ideas without ridicule or judgement. Her classroom is a safe space for middle school students to be themselves, with many opting to hang out there during lunch time to hang out, be silly or just to connect with her. Perhaps the best way to summarize her impact is in the words of current and past students. “She is an engaging and enthusiastic teacher. She always told stories and her love of drama made me and others love drama. She was always aware of the students and would pull in anyone who was off by themselves. She let me be myself.” “She is so fun and outgoing! She makes acting on stage so interactive and I never feel anxious with her there!” “She is a truly amazing teacher! Not only does she put up with rowdy middle schoolers but she instructs them and guides them to create fully fledged productions. She inspires and empowers her students to work hard and explore their talents. She wants everyone to get their chance to shine, so much so that she goes through the trouble of managing not one but sometimes more than six different casts for a single show!” Congratulations, Cheryl! | Outstanding Educator - Christy Lipke The Outstanding Educator Award honors individuals who go beyond the normal expectations of their jobs to make the learning environment fun, beneficial and challenging. Northshore Council PTSA’s Outstanding Educator Award was also given to Christy Lipke of Woodin Elementary. Christy has been teaching in the Northshore School District for several years. She teaches our youngest learners and creates an experience for these students and their families that welcomes and includes all of them into the school community as well as fosters a love of learning. She utilizes several different communication tools to create a bridge from school to home where everyone feels connected, informed and equipped to help students succeed. Visitors to her kindergarten classroom note that the students are engaged, learning continuously, and are genuinely loved by their teacher. Christy's commitment to her students does not end at the classroom door. She also is active in the school’s PTA, can be seen helping at PTA events, has served as the PTA’s staff liaison and has personally recruited her kindergarten parents involved in PTA leadership. Three words to describe her as a teacher are caring, fun, and dedicated. Congratulations, Christy! |
Learn more about PTA Recogntion Awards and how your PTA can recognize those who go above and beyond in your school community.
Wednesday, July 12, 2023
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM 🏝 Monday, August 14, 2023 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM Register for Zoom Link:
https://bit.ly/2023SummerOfficeHours The Zoom link you receive will be unique to your registration. Please have each person attending from your PTA register. Thank you. |
If you have questions and need to connect with Council prior to this, please visit our Contact Page for a list Council Officers and their emails.
The evening started with a presentation from Lake Washington Institute of Technology and Cascadia College titled “Community & Technical College: Preparing Students for Their Future”. This parent education event was organized by Brenae Brix, Council’s VP of Secondary Support, and included a Q&A session. For anyone wanting more information or to bring this presentation to their school community, email Brenae at [email protected].
Council Business
Following the presentation, Council business was accomplished. We approved the March 20,2023 General Membership Meeting Minutes, presented the April 2023 Treasurer’s Report, reported that our Annual Corporate Renewal was completed, and updated our membership that we had sent in a donation to the Washington State PTA College Scholarship Fund in accordance with our budget. We also held an election for Council’s 2023-2024 Office of VP of Events. We are excited to announce that Melissa Bennett was elected to this role! We are still looking to elect a Secretary as no nominations were submitted. To find out more about this position and other volunteer opportunities for next year’s Council, visit: http://www.northshorecouncilptsa.org/council-blog/council-volunteer-opportunities-for-2023-2024.
Council Co-President, Rachel Fitzgerald, then gave the following updates and reminders to the membership:
- Local PTAs were asked to update their newly elected officers into memberplanet and into Northshore Council’s Contact Document: http://www.northshorecouncilptsa.org/council-blog/time-to-update-2023-2024-leaders-contact-information-with-council.
- A thank you card from Northshore School Board Director McGourty was read out that thanked Council for the staff appreciation video that was put together for NSD and included thank you messages from Northshore PTA members to Northshore Staff. View the video here: http://www.northshorecouncilptsa.org/council-blog/we-appreciate-northshore-school-district-staff.
- They also gave a recap of Washington State PTA’s reimagined convention. This year the annual event was broken up into two separate parts. The first was a virtual business meeting on April 29th and 30th where Members elected the 2023-2025 Board of Directors and voted on changes to the Washington State PTA Bylaws. The second was the in person spring conference on May 5th and 6th which had several leaders from PTAs and PTSAs in Northshore in attendance. The in-person event was not only a lot of fun, but a great opportunity to receive annual training and connect with PTA leaders from across Northshore and the state!
The next part of our meeting was our Council Committee Reports.
Spring Recognition Celebration: Updates from Mary Khouzam. This event will be held on June 6th from 10:30-12:30 at Brightwater Community Center. Updates included reminding local PTAs to contact their President in order to RSVP and to submit their award recipients for recognition at the Council level. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSekeNRBGfw7qzuQNA1alhcZq4DZkQirh3Ht8vJSgpWIkFVSQw/viewform
Special Education Chairs: Laura Staneff reported on their recent meeting with Assistant Superintendent Obadiah Dunham discussing supports for neurodiverse students and gave an update on where they were at in the process of forming of a new Special Education PTSA in NSD.
Membership: Kim Ortiz announced that Membership across Northshore PTAs is at 101% of last year with a total of 5521 members! There were special shoutouts to Shelton View PTA, Bothell High School PTSA, and Frank Love PTA for having the highest percent increase of members. We also gave a reminder to local PTAs to utilize the end of the year database checklist provided by WSPTA: https://www.wastatepta.org/pta-leaders/leader-resources/leadership-guides/
Advocacy: Jennifer Drury reported on her recent meeting with fellow Council board member Melissa Kline and School Board Directors Amy Cast and Sandy Hayes where they discussed overcrowding and communication between city and county councils and the school district. There were updates about the upcoming school board elections including working with the incoming Co-VPs of Advocacy on hosting a candidate forum. Jen also let us know that Washington State PTAs Legislative Session Scorecard is available to see what passed and what didn’t and that a draft of the conclusions of the Student Wellness and Safety Task Force from Northshore Schools is available to view.
Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) Chair: Cherry Holmes gave a recap of our parent ed event “Northshore Panel Discussion: Beyond Black and White” in partnership with RARE. Feedback from attendees was that they really appreciated the event.
We ended the meeting with some timely calendar reminders.
- May 15 is the last day to submit award nominations for Council’s Awards.
- Friday May 20 is the last day to sign up for group registration for the National PTA Convention which is virtual.
- A Grant Cycle will be held right at the start of next school year with submissions due on September 4.
- Washington State PTA will host an Autumn Leadership Launch on August 25-26. Registration should open soon.
We want to thank all the volunteers, district employees, and community members who attended this meeting and all the previous meetings held this year. We hope you will continue to join us for our General Membership Meetings in the 2023-2024 school year.

Many PTA's do this through WSPTA's formal volunteer award recognition program which allows for local PTAs to award for outstanding educator, advocate, student advocate, and volunteer (Golden Acorn), as well as the honorary life membership award. A portion of the cost of the awards goes directly toward the WSPTA Scholarship Program benefiting students. This means the gift given to our amazing volunteers becomes a gift that keeps on giving by helping students pay for continued education.
Council is excited to share in the celebration of our local
Northshore PTA Award Recipients!
PTA |
Award / Recipient |
Canyon Park Middle School PTSA |
Golden Acorn: Tina Neil Outstanding Advocate: Patricia Herrera Outstanding Educator: Malisa Spencer |
Fernwood Elementary PTSA |
Golden Acorn : Aleah Dometita Outstanding Educator: Alison Fada |
Frank Love Elementary PTA |
Golden Acorn: Renae Sowald Outstanding Advocate: Katie Long Outstanding Educator: Amanda Sympson Outstanding Educator: Rebecca Wynkoop |
Innovation Lab High School PTSA |
Golden Acorn- Heather Bloom Outstanding Educator- Dr. Ashley Crisp Student Advocate- Victoria Tchervenski |
Kenmore Elementary PTA |
Golden Acorn: Maria Cone Golden Acorn: Patti Foster Outstanding Educator: Dana Plant |
Kenmore Middle School PTSA |
Golden Acorn: Jessica Read Outstanding Educator: TBA Outstanding Advocate: Christine Roehnelt |
Kokanee Elementary PTA |
Golden Acorn: Fatima Padela Golden Acorn: Ramesh Chundru |
Leota Middle School PTSA |
Golden Acorn: Dawn Simpson Outstanding Educator: Gary Warmbrodt Outstanding Educator: Douglas Poage Outstanding Advocate: Tony Van Zeyl Outstanding Student Advocate: Julien Wong |
Lockwood Elementary PTA |
Golden Acorn Award: Izabela Michnicki Outstanding Advocate Award: Sean Schoenfeldt Outstanding Educator Award: Bryce Wallace |
Maywood Elementary PTA |
Golden Acorn: Julia Cole Golden Acorn: Mary Irving Outstanding Advocate: Nicole Dibble Outstanding Educators: Lisa Vorwerk Outstanding Educators: Jeremy Lainer |
North Creek High School PTSA |
Golden Acorn: Karen Cohen Golden Acorn: Melissa Kline Outstanding Advocate: Saskia Mizushima Outstanding Educator: Christine Serica Outstanding Student Advocate: Jayden Lock |
Northshore Family Partnership PTSA at Bear Creek Campus |
Golden Acorn: Alynda Silcox Golden Acorn: Suzie Madsen-Kostopoulos Outstanding Advocate: Lauren Galloway Marantz Outstanding Advocate: Leslie Connor Outstanding Educator: Leslie Harwood Outstanding Educator: Todd Parker |
Shelton View Elementary PTA |
Golden Acorn: Lisa Groce Golden Acorn: Faustine Wiley Golden Acorn: Cheryl Whaley |
Sunrise Elementary PTA |
Golden Acorn: Shannyn Houtrouw Golden Apple: Sheri Padget |
Timbercrest Middle School PTSA |
Golden Acorn: Terri Kashi Outstanding Educator: Johnny Ho Outstanding Educator: Nikolas Gregg Outstanding Student Advocate: Ben Comer |
Wellington Elementary PTA |
Goden Acorn: Maryam Zarrabi - Worrell Outstanding Advocate: Diana Cherry Outstanding Educator: Jennifer Deskin Lifetime Award: Emily Williams Wellington Way Parent: Carol Bates Wellington Way Student: Ryan Bower |
Westhill Elementary PTSA |
Golden Acorn: Ericka Coleman Outstanding Educator: Noelle White Outstanding Educator: Sandra Lamb |
Woodin Elementary PTA |
Golden Acorn: Lorena Espinoza Outstanding Advocate: Theresa Cussac Outstanding Educator: Kirsten Jackson |
Woodinville High School PTSA |
Golden Acorn: Debi Niemi Golden Acorn: Lynn Smith |
Woodmoor Elementary PTSA |
Golden Acorn: Jill Benoit Golden Acorn: Jennifer Homes Golden Acorn: Amy Robinson Outstanding Educator: Ann Delano Outstanding Educator: Nycole Swearingen Outstanding Educator: Evelyn Romero Perez Outstanding Advocate: Kim Skrla Honorary Lifetime Membership: Sandy Hayes |
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